


Of High Society & Penguins

by Alekibutt



Category: Marvel (Movies), Marvel Avengers Movies Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bromance, Developing Relationship, Gen, M/M, New York City, Penguins, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-10
Updated: 2012-09-23
Packaged: 2017-11-14 00:12:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/509268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alekibutt/pseuds/Alekibutt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki Odinson is a rich, New York city socialite who spends most of his time mingling with the big apple's elite. Through a spontaneous turn of events, he finds himself in custody of a Fairy Blue Penguin named Clint. Loki may be well able to balance work and play for himself, but throwing in a penguin turns his whole routine upside down. </p>
<p>This story is about Loki, Clint the Penguin & all the people who come into their lives as a result of their friendship. Very loosely based off of Andrey Kurkov's wonderful tragicomedy, 'Death and the Penguin'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introducing, A Penguin.

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written for the Marvel Big Bang. However, as I was unable to complete it in time, I have decided to post it chapter-by-chapter, on a weekly basis. Please take the 'Slow build' tag quite seriously. Nothing is going to happen romance-wise for a very long time.
> 
> Apologies to those still waiting for an update on 'The Right Partner'. I'm kinda stuck on that one, and this fic has sort of consumed so much of my time, I felt like it needed to be posted. 
> 
> Also, warning for possibly unflattering depiction of Tony Stark.

Three extremely ornate-looking cocktails, give or take. That was the number of drinks Loki had consumed so far. Give or take because he vaguely remembered his hands in possession of his glass one moment, and conspicuously free of anything the next. He could have had a fourth, he thought, maybe. But he had been called to a more intimate area, away from the party proper, before he could decide whether or not to give that fourth a shot.

“Loki, c’mere.” The woman, Darcy Lewis, owner and writer of the most popular New York City Socialite gossip blog, motioned for him to follow her up the stairs of the lavish apartment. They entered another room, warm and quiet in comparison to the bustling party happening downstairs. He said warm, but that referred more to the temperature than the over-all atmosphere.

There were other guests here as well, all of them peering into the large aquariums surrounding the gallery-like space. “Has Victor turned to collecting fish now?” he asked Darcy off-handedly as she continued to steer him through the room.

Darcy paid no attention to his snark and, with him in tow, pushed her way through a small crowd gathered around none other than the host himself. “Kick-ass party, Victor,” she said loudly, both getting his attention and annoying the people who were trying to keep it.

“Darcy Lewis, happy you could make it,” he greeted. “And Loki, you too?” There was something in his tone that made Loki think he was more pleased to see him than he was with Darcy, but Victor hid it well enough. Not that Darcy would have cared either way.

“Victor.” He smiled back graciously at their host. “Tonight looks to undoubtedly be another successful Von Doom affair.”

“What do you have here, Victor?” Darcy said suddenly, leading the conversation and gesturing to the large glass wall behind them. Loki hadn’t gotten a chance to get a good look at what had caught everyone’s attention earlier, so any could imagine his surprise to see that what he thought were aquariums were actually large enclosures, this one containing a flock of little blue birds.

“Are those penguins?” Loki said, taken aback. He would later blame the drink for his child-like surprise, but truthfully, he was legitimately gobsmacked to see such creatures. But he prided himself in his reputation too much to admit that.

Victor, on the other hand, looked most pleased with his reaction. “Like them? They were a gift,” he said, and Loki could clearly see the thinly-veiled self-satisfaction written on his face as he showed off his acquisitions. “Although, it’s a pity I couldn’t keep them.”

“Aw, why not?” Darcy cooed, looking genuinely disappointed to hear that they weren’t going to be a permanent fixture in his abode. Loki on the other hand, turned his attention to the birds, not particularly interested in whatever reasons their host could possibly give them. He expected the truth to be that they cramped his style, regardless of whatever less shallow reason Victor would cook up. They weren’t exactly a picture of power and opulence - two things Victor von Doom took much pride in exhibiting.

Victor explained anyway. “They’re very social animals. Need to always be in groups. I couldn’t stand keeping so many of them.” He shrugged nonchalantly. Any other person would mistake his words to be more in jest, but the thing about Victor von Doom was that he could make you believe his arrogance and lack of sympathy were only exaggerations- jests, if you would- instead of the bare-faced truths that they usually were.

Still, what he said seemed odd to Loki. A whole crowd of penguins ran to the other side of the enclosure, leaving a solitary one exposed and isolated in the corner. “What about that one?” he asked, pointing at it. Loki couldn’t help but stare at the little thing standing perfectly still and all on its own. Given what Victor had just told him, and the way it just stayed there, the thought crossed his mind that maybe it was dead—ridiculous a notion as it sounded.

Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Victor approach to get a better look, but for the most part, his attention was still locked on the lone penguin, wondering if it even cared to notice how exposed his solitude left him.

A snort was Victor’s initial reply. Whether it were one of annoyance or dismissal, Loki could not decide.

He liked thinking it was the former and that Victor was displeased at being made to look like a liar. “Right, the odd one.” Loki gave himself points after Victor’s voice confirmed his earlier speculations. “We haven’t been able to find out what’s wrong with that one.” 

The way he said that made Loki narrow his eyes at him. He was sure Victor couldn’t see him, which was for the better because he didn’t know how to explain being offended on behalf of a bird. True enough, Victor continued what he was saying, completely oblivious to Loki’s glare.“He doesn’t seem to like the others, and mostly just sits on his own and watches people.” It was clear that this was either very abnormal behaviour for penguins, or was just something Victor did not like about it.

True enough though, upon returning his focus to the little blue bird, he found it staring them down. Loki had never really found himself in the position of getting sized up by an animal- let alone a penguin- before. But if it was any consolation, the animal’s unmoving stare didn’t make him uncomfortable or creep him out, even though he felt as if it was supposed to.

“Maybe it’s the others who don’t like him,” he found himself saying. He looked back at Victor and Darcy. Both their faces seemed unreadable for a moment, and Loki thought that, being two well educated people, their expressions indicated they might have been reading too much into what he said.

“Oh my god, Loki,” Darcy said, first to react. “You should totally just get that one! You’d make the perfect couple!” Her eyes were wide, face lit up with excitement.

Loki frowned slightly. He did not like the idea of being at the receiving end of one of the crazed ideas that ran wild in Darcy’s head.

“What?” he asked dismissively.

Darcy was relentless. “I’m serious!” she said animatedly, complete with hand gestures. “Like, forget designer dogs! Nothing as mundane as that for the likes of Loki Odinson!” There were arching movements and jazz-hands involved in her pitch. That alone should probably have insulted Loki, especially since it meant that she thought that such a display would actually entice him.

Now, it might have just been the alcohol, but Loki was beginning to think that, while Darcy herself may have been a bit of kilter, what she had been suggesting. . . might not actually be all that bad? “A penguin though?” he said, trying not to make it sound too obvious that he was considering it.

It was as if, in a mad way, he hoped that a crazy person like Darcy would be able to pick up that they were in agreement, but he couldn’t admit it. It was as if Darcy was supposed to use her infinite wisdom to come up with the perfect, nonsensical solution that would end up solving the problem for both of them.

But then, as if receiving his psychic plea in her stead, Victor piped in, chuckling. The man had kept quiet up until now, but chose this very moment to lend his own thoughts on the matter."Why not?" he asked, as if he believed it was really that simple.

Loki felt the corners of his mouth twitch in annoyance. It wasn’t that Loki didn’t one of the little things for himself, but something in him grew excessively upset, feeling as if Victor’s words were an arrogant challenge, rather than an offer. The scoff practically spoke that, not only was caring for a penguin well within Loki’s abilities, but also that Loki could not seem to see the verdict as obviously as he and Darcy could.

“I don’t know the first thing about penguins,” he huffed, as if in defiance to their nonchalance about the matter.

But Darcy was having none of that. “They eat fish, they swim, they waddle around looking cute, bam! The end. Now you’re a penguin expert.” Any other day, Darcy’s exasperation might have been annoying. But really, how many people could say they had the ever irreverent and unapologetic Darcy Lewis beg them to do something?

“It’s well within your capability...” Victor encouraged as well.

Darcy’s face lit up, heartened that she now had an ally in her cause. “And you’d finally have a use for that pool of yours!” Loki quirked a brow at her, wanting to be surprised that she even knew about his pool. But it would have been very naive of him to think that a gossip blogger as skilled as Darcy would not have an entire blueprint of every house owned by someone of note in New York. “Come on, it’ll be awesome!” She was giving him the doe-eyes now.

Loki hid his uncontrollable grin by turning to face the tank, looking away from them. “Well, they are terribly adorable...” he admitted, trying his hardest not to coo.

“That’s the spirit!” Darcy said, accentuating her words with a particularly hard slap to Loki’s shoulder. It stung, and Loki sent a glare in the enthusiastic brunette’s direction, but she paid him no mind as she looked out into the enclosure. Judging from the look on her face, she was pretty smug with herself.

Now, it could possibly have been accidental, but Victor put his hand square on Loki’s shoulder; the exact spot Darcy had struck not five minutes ago. “You can consider it a token of gratitude for the wonders you’ve done for my reputation.” His words said thanks, but his tone said quite the opposite. Still, Loki knew Victor’s egotism was, for the most part, harmless.

“You realize I’m going to start feeling obligated now,” he chuckled, making it sound as if he was saying this in jest.

“Exactly the point.” Startled by his reply, Loki just looked at Victor, attempting to read his face for sincerity. Was he just feigning banter the same way Loki was?

There wasn’t much chance for Loki to analyze this further before their host gestured away from the penguins, towards the opposite direction. “Now come, I have to show you the rest of my new acquisitions.”

\---

 

He would have walked into the doorman holding the door open for them had it not been for Darcy’s guiding hand. Loki didn’t think he was even close to drunk before that last cocktail, but his body had decided to prove him wrong. He tried his best to look sober, often stopping in his tracks to straighten himself up.

It probably wasn’t working because Darcy would laugh at him every time he did so, but to be fair, she wasn’t a picture of sobriety either. Better than he was, maybe, but the redness of her face was definitely not just the result of sloppy make-up application.

Still, she managed to articulate their need for transportation to the doorman, who didn’t question their dishevelled state and simply hailed them the next cab.

Darcy helped Loki in, pulled out her wallet, and handed the driver a large sum of money. She gave directions to Loki’s place, and when Loki realized that she wasn’t joining him, he protested her generosity.

“It’s fine, I’m returning the favor,” she shrugged, sincere enough about it. “Thanks for getting me invited to the drug lord’s party.” The grin on her face was understated, something not very common for her, and Loki couldn’t help but grin back.

“He’s not a drug lord.” The exasperation in his voice was followed by a noise that sounded like a cross between a snort and a giggle.

Darcy put her hands on her hips, as if unimpressed by Loki’s naivety.“Dude, who owns that many animals? Drug lords, that’s who.” Loki knew it was wrong to laugh about such things, especially considering they were just outside said alleged-drug lord’s building. But he did so anyway.

He reclined back into the seat of the cab in defeat. “Thank you Darcy,” he said in resignation.

She smiled one last time and blew him a kiss. “Take care, babe.” She closed the door and waved as the cab drove away.

\---

The cab drove on, and Loki ended up just resting against the door, watching all the city lights pass by him in a blur. Eventually, he fell asleep before they reached Tribeca. Although he felt somewhat aware of the world around him, it wasn’t until he heard the sound of the cab driver’s voice that he was pulled back into reality.

“I’m sorry, what?” He blinked, not yet completely regaining control of his bearings.

“We just passed Duane Park,” the cab driver repeated.

At first, Loki could not process the words. He looked outside, and for a few moments, nothing made sense. “Oh, Christ,” he said when his brain finally caught up. “Pull over.”

They stopped next to one of the corners, a few feet away from an open cafe. “Which way now?” the driver asked.

“It’s fine. It’s right there, I can walk,” Loki said, grabbing his things. The driver didn’t question his decision. Loki double checked to see if Darcy’s money had covered the ride’s expenses, and scooted out the moment he knew he had a lot more time to spare. “Keep the change,” he said as he closed the door.

He watched the cab drive away, before collecting himself and walking back to the park across his apartment.

He was all right for a while. Not completely steady in his step, but the line he walked was straight enough. There were no accidental missteps just yet, and his brain wasn’t as foggy as it had been earlier. However, as his proper senses returned to him, so did his awareness that his stomach was getting fed up with all his nonsense.

He clutched his stomach and steadied himself against a wall for support. He knew he was almost home now, and if he could just cross the block, he could probably curl up beside the toilet therapeutically to console his upset insides.

“Hey buddy, you all right?” He looked up and became aware that he had already doubled over, ready to heave. The person’s face was unfamiliar, but didn’t look particularly hostile or dangerous, so Loki didn’t think much of him.

“Who, me?” he asked dumbly as he straightened up in an attempt to appear convincingly fine. “I’m smashing.” He smiled, probably with a grin more lopsided than he would have liked and a slur in his speech he should have tried harder to suppress.

“More like smashed,” said the stranger. Loki might have taken offense to how judgemental it came across, but looking into the stranger’s face, he saw what seemed like genuine concern; something rather nice considering the two of them had never met. “Do you need help or...?”

Loki tried to smile. He composed himself to the best of his ability to reassure the other. “I’m perfectly—“ He couldn’t even finish his sentence before the motion of snapping into proper posture triggered a sudden wave of nausea. Loki spun around as quickly as he could in the direction opposite the stranger, and promptly emptied the contents of his stomach onto the sidewalk.

“Whoa, easy there,” he heard the stranger say.

Loki felt mortified. “Oh god.”

He covered his mouth immediately after he felt he had nothing more to throw up. He was disgusted and embarrassed with himself. Not to say that this had never happened before, but never out in public like this, at the mercy of the judgment of a complete stranger.

He felt a hand pat him hesitantly on the back. “Are you from around here?” the man asked, sounding sincerely concerned.

Still bent over, Loki pointed down the road in the direction of his building. “Mohawk on Duane and Hudson, good sir,” he coughed, trying to remain as composed as he could, given the situation.

The man helped him steady himself as he started to wobble again. “Yeah, okay, listen buddy, I’m gonna walk you back, all right?” Loki worried that something even more humiliating would happen on the way, possibly along the lines of getting vomit on the fellow nice enough to help him out.

“How chivalrous of you,” Loki sighed. The stranger might have taken it for sarcasm, but if he did, it did not deter him from taking Loki by the arm and helping him find his step again. It took a while, but Loki eventually regained some form of control, and was able to trudge back home, stranger in tow.

They were crossing the street towards Duane Park. Loki just kept walking, his head still hanging low, more because of his struggle to find the strength to support the added weight of his lifeless and bordering-on-unresponsive body. He stole a glance at the stranger. Still, his face was not unkind. “So do you do this often?” he murmured, chuckling after realizing how funny he was being.

The man looked at him quizzically. “What do you mean? Do I help walk drunken strangers back to their homes long after midnight?”

“Yes, that.”

A shrug. “Can’t say I do.

Loki laughed again. “Lucky me then.”

He received another look of confusion in return. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll mug you?” he asked in all seriousness.

It was Loki’s turn to shrug. “You would have done it by now,” he answered automatically. He couldn’t say it was because being robbed would not have bothered him so much, as he would have not have missed anything taken off his person right at this moment. Well, he might, but as nice as the stranger was, he didn’t want to give him any ideas.

The man shot a look of amused disbelief at Loki’s nonchalance and just shook his head as they continued walking. It may or may not have been a conscious action, but Loki found himself leaning into the man more than he needed to. He could always blame it on the alcohol if it wasn’t accidental, but he didn’t think to worry about it too much. After all, what were the chances of ever seeing the stranger again?

They crossed the street again and, soon enough, reached a set of familiar doors. “Here we go,” the man said, stopping in front of the Mohawk Atelier.

He let go of the stranger and yet again uselessly straightened himself up too, trying to appear even the slightest bit more respectable. “Why thank you, Mr. After-Hours Gentleman.” He almost bowed, but his body still wasn’t fully cooperating with him yet. Instead, he thanked the stranger with a peck on either side of his face. “I shall forever be in debt to your kindness.”

The man looked like he didn’t know how exactly to react to Loki, but decided on a smile and a polite nod. “Take it easy on the drinks next time, all right?”

Loki just laughed. “Tah,” he sang and waved at the stranger. He looked into his face one last time, and though he realized that the man was his proverbial Good Samaritan, he could not actually commit his features to memory. It was a pity, since he would have at least like to remember the person on the off chance they ever met again, but in the end, he thought little of it.

He walked into the building, still wobbling as he crossed the room. “Good evening, Mr. Odinson. Do you need help?” asked the man behind the front desk.

“I’ll be fine.” He waved reassuringly and made his way into the elevator. He got to his floor with little trouble, but getting his keys out and unlocking his apartment was another thing altogether. It was a bit of a struggle, but eventually, he managed to get it in the correct way and open the door.

He couldn’t remember if he locked the door again on his way in, but he was honestly too tired to care.

He removed things from his pockets and put them down on the nearest surfaces. He shrugged off his jacket, dropping it on the floor, and kicked off his shoes. Whether or not there was anything left to be done, he’d regret not doing it in the morning, because the moment he caught sight of his couch, nothing else mattered but the feel of the cushions under his body.

The comfort lasted a few blissful seconds before he felt a vibration in his pocket from the phone he had neglected to put down somewhere else. He rejected the call without another thought and put it down on the ground. He could only hope that it would not be one of the decisions he would end up regretting after his slumber, not wishing to add another to the list after his decision to drink.

His last thoughts as he drifted off were that of the friendly stranger whose face he already couldn’t remember.


	2. Penguin at Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by my dear friend-- IDK what her username is places. xD

The sound of his phone ringing was the first thing he became aware of as he awoke. The fact that he smelled off, and that his back and neck hurt from the way he had slept were the second and third things respectively.

The phone rang on and he decided it was probably about time for him to have gotten up anyway. He gave himself some time to stretch and re-accustom his eyes to the light of the morning, before he got down on the floor to find the phone he had remembered putting down the night before.

He found it a foot or so underneath the couch he had slept so poorly on, and reached for it to answer before whoever was on the line decided to give up. As he picked it up, he looked at the screen and made a face of disappointment at the name flashing across the screen.

Loki answered it as he stood up off the floor and headed towards his bedroom. “Hang on, I’m getting my laptop,” he said to the person on the other end without so much as a greeting.

“Good morning to you too, sunshine,” came the sarcastic, equally unfriendly reply.

He grabbed his laptop and flipped it open. He fixed his hair as he caught sight of his reflection on the screen, and waited as the video chat program finished logging in. Immediately, he accepted the invitation to the video call, and was greeted by the irritatingly smug face of one Tony Stark, toast of the New York City elite, eternal thorn on the collective side of the New York City Government, owner and CEO of New York's largest Publishing Company, and editor-in-chief of their flagship magazine, Reactor. Most importantly though, he was Loki's boss and alleged best friend.

“Yeesh, you look like shit,” Tony said, unsympathetic. “Did you sleep on your rug again?” Loki did not dignify his statement with a reply.

“Good morning, Pepper,” he greeted instead. A woman with red hair entered the frame from the left of Tony, and effectively pushed him out of the way to take his place in the center of the screen. Tony looked offended as the two ignored him and continued the conversation without him.

“Good morning, Loki.” She smiled back at him, casually keeping Tony at bay, despite his protests. “You look like you enjoyed Victor’s party.” Her tone, though teasing, was much friendlier than Tony’s.

Loki could not help but smile back, and continue on in equally playful banter. Besides, he knew not acknowledging Tony only irritated him more, and Loki did so very much enjoy that. “Not as much as you’d think,” he answered woefully. “Am I correct to assume you’re going to need a write up on it now?”

“Before lunch, if you please.” She smiled, pleased with his straightforwardness. “I know we don’t usually ask for it until 4, but a couple of other sites have put theirs up already, and as much as Tony hates him-“

“-I don’t hate him. He’s just too far beneath me for me to properly care about- “

“-Victor is still very much a hot topic,” Pepper finished, swatting Tony scoldingly on the shoulder as she did.

Loki didn’t hold back his amusement. “Not a problem, Ms. Potts.” He heard the doorbell go off, and while it struck him as odd that there’d be someone at his door at all, he got up to answer it, taking the laptop with him as he went. “I’ll send it to you within an hour or so.”

He put the laptop down by the table right beside the door, and excused himself from the conversation for a moment as he opened the door.

“Mr. Odinson?” a deliveryman inquired, reading his name off of a clipboard.

“Good morning.” Loki confirmed.

The deliveryman wheeled in a large crate with holes that looked to be dripping water at the very bottom. “This is for you. The delivery fee has been paid for by Mr. Von Doom,” the courier explained.

Loki’s eyes grew wide as he realized what the contents of the crate were likely to be. His state of shock was interrupted when the deliveryman passed the clipboard his way and asked him to sign on the appropriate areas. Frozen in shock, Loki just looked from the crate to the man to the crate again. “Is that...?” he couldn’t even bring himself to finish the question.

The courier misunderstood and took Loki’s words as a cue to open the crate. Handing Loki the clipboard to hold, he undid the latches and revealed exactly what Loki was expecting to see.

Inside was a small blue penguin, warily standing in one of the corners of the crate. He looked up at the humans, eying them with what could only be suspicion. The courier paid no attention to the bird, though Loki found he couldn’t pull his eyes away.

“Look, I’m going to need you to sign this now,” the man repeated, tapping the space on the papers, which had been allocated for Loki’s signature.

At a loss for words and knowing that it would be futile to argue with the courier (even if he did, he didn’t even know where he’d begin!) he signed the form and watched in disbelief as the man thanked him and left. He was still expecting someone to just pop out of nowhere and tell him it was all just a joke.

But when nothing came, Loki just looked back down at the small creature and tried to accept reality.

Given their limited view of the scene, the two on the video chat spoke up, wanting to know what was going on.

Loki didn’t know what he could tell them; so instead, he cautiously reached into the box and awkwardly attempted to pick the bird up to free him from the crate. It was a challenge at first because he honestly had no idea how one even went about carrying penguins, and this one was not particularly keen on being carried either.

After a few moments and a lot of annoying commentary from Tony who still wanted to know what was going on, he lifted the blue bird out of the crate for Tony and Pepper to see.

“Oh my god,” he heard Pepper say in surprise.

“Loki, that is one bizarre looking dog.” That one was Tony, being the opposite of helpful.

Loki held the bird up to examine him, almost unable to grasp that what he was holding was a real, living animal. When the bird panicked, Loki had to be extremely careful not to drop it or hurt it. He put it down on the ground and watched it scurry off to hide under the cabinet a few feet away.

“I’ll call you back,” he told the two as he quickly folded the laptop closed, not giving Tony a chance to argue.

He ran into his bedroom to grab his phone and dial Darcy’s number as fast as he could. He inspected the crate as he impatiently waited for her to pick up, part of him wishing he’d find a pamphlet or some sort of instruction manual to tell him what the hell he was supposed to do with this thing.

He was visibly upset when the crate didn’t give him any information other than some random dates, numbers, and the words ‘Oamaru, New Zealand’, ‘Clint Barton’ and ‘Fairy Blue Penguin’. It didn’t improve his mood when Darcy didn’t pick up either. The call transferred to her voice mail, and Loki was tempted to leave a scathing message for her to return to, but figured it would just be in vain.

He gave up and walked up to the cabinet, dropping to the floor to look underneath it. The Penguin was still there, huddled far from the edge in a protective-looking position. “Hello, penguin,” Loki dumbly said, unsure of what exactly he was doing or what he hoped to achieve by doing it. “Come here, won’t you?” He tapped the ground in front of him, lamely trying to lure it out.

If anything, his tapping threatened the penguin into an even more defensive curl. Just his luck.

Loki was at a total loss. How did Past-Loki ever allow Darcy to convince him that this penguin business could ever possibly be a walk in the park?

He got up to look at the crate again. Oamaru, New Zealand, Clint Barton, Fairy Blue Penguin. That’s all the information the darned thing would give him. If he was completely honest, he’s surprised with himself and his calm, given the situation. True, he wanted nothing more than to shove the bird back in the box and have it shipped right back to where it came from, but he was still in the right frame of mind to recognize that that was a terrible, terrible idea. Besides, he didn't actually know where exactly it was this bird came from.

Needing to sort out his priorities, Loki set the crate down beside the dresser to its side. He was hoping maybe that the bird would find the familiarity of the crate appealing or safe, and waddle back in, though he knew it was a long shot.

He got his laptop and sat down on the floor in front of the crate and dresser. He still had work to do, and it made sense to get as much of it out of the way early on, so he’d have one less matter to worry about later; when things stood the chance of getting much, much worse.

It was difficult to work, honestly. Both because he could not really take his mind off the live blue bird hiding under his furniture, and because he had honestly spent a lot of Victor’s party NOT paying attention to Victor’s party. It wasn’t because it was terrible—he probably would have still been spot on if he wrote it was the nicest party that’d been thrown in a long while—but quite frankly, Loki did not like the company Victor kept, and he was still unsure of whether or not he even liked Victor.

Still, it was his job, and whether or not he actually approved, they were supposed to be his kind of people. So he buckled down and did his best to recall every element of the evening that Victor had probably spent a small fortune to acquire; everything from the entertainment to the food was consistent with Victor’s extremely demanding tastes.

He couldn't write about the back room attractions, not that he even wanted to. There had always been an unspoken rule about what happened in the more intimate parts of these social gatherings, which weren't usually the sort of thing you disclosed to the public.

He glanced at the empty crate and sighed to himself. Never was that unspoken rule more beneficial to him than it was now. Generally, he didn't care one way or the other, but he did not feel up to being the subject of gossip or intrigue because of Victor's little gift.

True to his word, Loki's article was quite favourable. He didn't lie about anything, to the delight of his already heavy conscience. If there was anything questionable, it would have been how much Loki made it sound like he had enjoyed himself. Not that that was even a problem. Tony had always told him that he liked that about Loki; he wasn't prone to falling victim to the glittering allure of these high society types.

Writing calmed him down slightly. He was thankful for the opportunity to catch his breath, if only for a moment. It only lasted as long as his article did, but he had relaxed enough to keep from stumbling over himself, and he could now consider this penguin business with a better state of mind.

Determined to do it right, Loki put his laptop away once again, and bent over to try another hand at luring the little blue penguin out.

Only, there was no longer anything under the dresser.

Filled with renewed panic, Loki started frantically looking under all the crawlable spaces in close proximity. With each piece of penguin-free furniture, Loki’s felt the dread further pooling in his stomach. He couldn’t possibly lose a live penguin in his home, could he? Or even worse, he could find it meeting an early end because of one thing or another. There was no way he was going to have such a thing on his conscience.

The sudden sharp sound of metal crashing to the floor made Loki jump. He leapt to his feet and headed for the kitchen, hoping to find a few dented appliances at worst. The penguin in one piece, most preferably.

There was a kettle on the ground, but that was all. Luckily, he noted, that it had not been in use. There was, however, still no sign of the penguin. With caution in his step, Loki circled the room, eyes scanning the area in trepidation. A flap of blue caught his eye, before it disappeared behind the island in the center of the room.

As slowly and silently as he could manage, he approached the counter corner. He made eye contact with the bird as soon as he peered over the island top towards the floor.

The little blue thing did not look frightened of him, he observed, which was probably for the better in this situation. “Hello again,” he tried.

It was not as if Loki expected the penguin to reply to him, but some form of acknowledgement would have been nice. Instead the bird just continued looking at him.

“I’m going to pick you up now,” Loki began, as if asking it for permission. He raised both hands in a defensive position before gently reaching down to pick the bird up. Now, Loki knew that an animal like this penguin probably did not understand the gesture at all; he was trying his best to just look as unthreatening to the bird as possible.

All went well as he touched the penguin, and he lifted him off the ground without any hassle. Loki held his breath, and the determination to not startle the bird was enough to keep his movements controlled. For a second, Loki thought he’d gotten the hang of this whole penguin-handling business. His illusions were shattered when the bird began squirming and pecking at him.

Sudden panic took over him, and he had to think quickly before he ended up doing something he would regret. He ran towards the bedroom, hands stiffening as he braced himself through the bird's attacks. His mind was a mess of 'Don't drop him' and 'Don't squeeze him' and he was amazed he didn’t end up accidentally doing both.

Somehow, the brightest idea that occurred to him was to head towards his bed so he could drop the penguin there- surely, he couldn't hurt himself falling into the mattress. It took so much self control for Loki not to fling the bird onto the bed after a particularly sharp nip, but he managed to keep to his goal, and set the little blue thing down as gently as the situation allowed.

The penguin landed on his behind and scrambled to get steady footing on the bed he was placed on.

The unfamiliar terrain must have scared him, because he started lying on his belly instead of standing, unwilling to lift his body off the ground in fear of falling.

It was an odd sight; the penguin was using his legs to propel himself forward, although the bed did not make the task easy for him. He eventually found the edge of the blanket and a crevasse created by two pillows, and used it as his temporary sanctuary.

Loki didn't know why he was so eager to duck for cover though. Between the two of them, it wasn’t the little thing who had been injured within the span of the hour they'd been together.

As the penguin hid himself, Loki couldn't exactly see him anymore, but for some strange reason, he was still sure he was watching him. Knowing there was nothing else he could do right now that would make the penguin warm up to him, he got his laptop once more and started looking up any information he could find on Little Blue Penguins.

A pop-up menu and Tony's name appeared on his screen not long after. Loki knew everything Tony was likely to say or do, so he clicked 'reject' on the video chat request, and tried logging out of his chat client. Before he could do so, however, another window with Tony's profile appeared. "Come on, baby, don't shut me out," came Tony's voice through his speakers.

"Why do you send me requests like you actually care if I give you permission or not? We both know you're not going to let me ignore you anyway," Loki said as he gave up on closing the chat, and just resumed searching for penguin-related information.

Tony tisked. "You make it sound like I force myself on you,” he pretended to sound hurt.

Loki let out an incredulously sarcastic “hah" and left it at that.

"You know you like it anyway," Tony teased, once again being the exact opposite of helpful. "Also, you're probably going to want to look into better search words, because yikes--"

"Tony," Loki warned. "Shut up."

"Food, man," he said cutting to the chase. "The first thing you oughta get the sucker is a snack or something."

At this moment, Loki was exceedingly grateful that he only had Tony on voice call and not on video, because he'd have hated to see Tony's reaction to the flustered face he was making right now. To be one-upped by Tony Stark was not something he enjoyed- even if the man was a genius in disguise.

Fishing out his phone from his pocket, he called up the building's front desk in hopes of asking for a favor.

The other end picked up. "Mohawk Atelier, good mornin--"

"Yes, good morning, Loki Odinson, Penthouse," he introduced himself in a rush. "Sorry, but I'm in desperate need of some fresh fish, don't ask, it's an emergency, do you think you could-?"

"Right away, sir," the voice answered pleasantly. "I'll have it brought to your door as soon as possible."

Loki thought he could sob in relief at how accommodating his building manager was. "Thank you," he said as he put down the phone.

Tony chose that moment to speak up yet again, and gave his unsolicited comment on everything.

"You really are going to need to learn how to feed him. Maybe buy an aquarium or have some sorta fish delivery service or something. Oh, and the salinity of your pool water's gotta be just right, you can't leave the thing with just any chlorine-filled water. And what about housing? Dang, do you even have a permit to keep this thing--?"

"I KNOW TONY, SHUT UP." Loki had had enough of his unhelpful nagging, and he didn’t hesitate to let Stark know. Despite all their antagonistic banter, it was very rare for Loki to use such a forceful and stern voice with Tony.

There was a moment of tense silence as Tony did indeed stop talking. Loki felt a bit guilty for taking his frustration out on Tony when he knew the other meant nothing by it, despite how he came off. But truth be told, he was really in no mood to be dealing with Tony, and tried to just ignore him.

But like any quick-witted reluctant-best-friend would, Tony quickly changed his game plan without outright drawing attention to it. "I mean, don't get me wrong, it's completely crazy," he continued, as if pretending he was unaffected by Loki's outburst. "And too much of a migraine too, if you ask me. But, hell, if anyone can find a way to get through a totally batshit insane situation like that, I suppose it could be you." That was as supportive as the likes of Tony Stark could muster. "Well, let's be real, it'd be me first, but you could come a close second. Or third. There's still Pepper after all--"

It was only then that Loki decided to just mute his laptop to kill Tony's babbling.

He spent the next half hour making calls to various places in attempts to make arrangements for a water filtration system for his pool, find somewhere he could make a deal with to keep the supply of fish coming, figure out what kind of housing and other supplies he would have needed to keep the bird well taken care of. It's after the fifth unsuccessful conversation that Loki's started to feel hopeless again.

He glanced at the stack of pillows the penguin had taken refuge under. He's thankful for the little peek of blue that assured him the penguin is still there, and the very subtle movements that told him it's still alive as well. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling of disappointment and unease.

He reached for his phone again and had another go at calling Darcy. Once again, there's no reply and he was switched to voicemail. This time, he left her a message.

"I don't know how you talked me into doing this," he said dejectedly. "I don't think I can do it, Darcy. What was I thinking? I can't take care of this penguin. The only person I know how to look after is myself." The last came in an almost bitter admission. He put the phone down, not wanting to say any more.

Although he knew that guilt tripping Darcy was a surefire way to get her to call him back, and that he could claim that he had done so to be manipulative, it was almost painfully obvious that Loki meant every word he said.

Almost immediately after, his phone began ringing. Loki was fairly impressed with his powers of prediction and made a mental note to not overuse the tactic lest it become ineffective. "Thank god, I was beginning to think you'd never get back to me," he breathed in relief.

"From the sound of it, I’m not who you were expecting, brother," came a voice from the other end of the line that was most certainly NOT Darcy Lewis.

Loki tensed. “Thor,” he said curtly, almost unwilling to believe it was him. Stupid, stupid. How had he been too absentminded to not have looked at the display screen before he picked up?

"Loki," Thor greeted back. "You have been very difficult to get a hold of." The tone of Thor's voice sounded unhappy but light. Loki did not really care how his brother truly felt about his avoidance, but if Thor was willing to feign concern, he felt obligated to do the same.

He didn’t even ask how he got his number. Thor probably wouldn’t have told him the truth anyway. "Apologies, Thor. I have been exceedingly busy. Work and all that. In fact, I was expecting a very important call right now, so if you wouldn't mind..."

"Wait Loki, I just wish for a moment to speak with you--"

"And I will call you back as soon as I can, brother, but as I said, I haven’t the time right now.” As if on cue, the doorbell went off and Loki could not be more thankful for the timing. "Ah, and that sounds like the company I’ve been expecting. As I said, perhaps next time, Thor."

“Lok—“ Loki dropped the call before he can hear the rest of Thor's objection. Tucking his laptop under his arm and his phone in his pocket, he headed for the door.

The sight of the poker-faced, well-dressed gentleman at his door might have worried Loki, should he not have grown used to seeing this same fellow everyday as he arrived and left his building.

"The fish you requested, sir." He nodded, holding up two bags. "I didn’t know what kind you needed so I got a little bit of everything.”

"You are a lifesaver,” Loki sighed appreciatively. The man smiled politely in the same reserved manner Loki had become accustomed to seeing daily.

He took both bags with a bit of difficulty because of the laptop he still had in one arm. The other man offered to help, but Loki insisted that he was all right and could handle it on his own.

Loki thanked him again and the man said to think nothing of it. "If there's anything else you need, sir, don't hesitate to let me know," he assured Loki. "I hope they are to Mr. Barton's enjoyment.” His gaze drifted down to the floor behind Loki and for a moment, Loki was confused.

"What?" His brows furrowed before he turned around to follow the other man's line of vision to find that the penguin had come out of his make-shift fortress, and was watching them with cautious interest.

"My apologies." His attention was brought back to the other man ready to depart. "I had assumed Clint Barton was his name since that was the only other information the courier had left about your delivery at the front desk."

Loki glanced at the penguin one more time before thanking him for the last time, briefly exchanging pleasantries before they went their separate ways. Loki headed for the bathroom in a bit of a rush after closing his front door.

He dropped the two heavy bags of fish into the tub and his laptop down on the nearest dry surface. He didn't need to look around to know that the penguin- Clint Barton as his friendly building manager thought he was named- was following closely behind. The bird was like a ninja, true enough, and it was hard to know exactly where he was without seeing him, but Loki was confident Clint Barton wasn't far behind.

He rolled his sleeves up and started unloading the fish into the tub. From his peripheral vision, he could see a little blue head trying to peer into the tub.

He finishes dropping all the assorted types of fish into the tub and put the plastic aside. Observing the bird subtly from a few steps away, he smiled in amusement as the penguin was unable to get past the side of the tub, which, in fairness to him, was a great deal taller than he was.

Bemused, Loki wondered how long Clint Barton would go about it before giving up. As if thinking exactly the same thing, the bird momentarily stopped to look at him. It was almost as if he was contemplating whether or not he was going to submit to Loki's cruel games and ask for assistance.

He turned away and with one especially determined attempt, leapt upward, something Loki didn't actually think penguins were capable of doing.

However valiant, his attempt failed, and Clint Barton fell to the ground on his behind. Out of both pity and awe, Loki decided to cut him some slack. He walked over to the humiliated penguin. Trying his best not to startle him, Loki picked him up for the enth time that day, and put him down right in the middle of the bathtub.

Despite the fact that there was fish in every direction he looked, Clint Barton wasn't so quick to just dig in. He eyed the fish suspiciously, and gave Loki the same once-over. Loki didn't know whether to find Clint Barton's actions amusing or insulting. "Don’t you think that if I wanted to do something bad to you, I would have done it by now?" He frowned, chiding the penguin as if it understood him.

The crazy thing was, you could swear by the way the bird looked at him, that he did!

Clint Barton took a couple of tentative steps around and began inspecting the fish one at a time, before selecting the one he deemed most edible.

Loki sat down on the floor by one of the corners of the tub and took note of which of the fish Clint Barton ate. He took the time to make a checklist of everything he was going to need as soon as humanly possible.

The pool water would definitely need some adjusting to be safe for Clint Barton to swim in for prolonged periods of time. He thought of turning the whole pool room into the closest thing to a penguin sanctuary he could come up with. It wasn't as if he really used that room anyway.

His thoughts drifted back to the memory of the first time he had seen Clint Barton. He remembered the way the penguin sat alone, unwilling to mingle with the rest of his kind, with whom he supposedly had spent most of his life with.

Now, Loki didn't know much about penguins- little to nothing before today, even- but he was inclined to believe that they were indeed animals that needed the company of others of their kind. So why was that not true of this particular penguin, he wondered. It began to worry him, then; if Clint Barton did not even feel comfortable around those of his kind, what more with someone like Loki?

It was almost depressing to think that there was a possibility that, despite everything he could have done to make the penguin happy, he might simply just not like to be around anyone. He thought of how Darcy and Victor were so sure of the fact that he and Clint Barton would be a good match- that he'd be able to take good care of him or that they'd make good companions.

But what an ill-conceived idea, Loki came to the conclusion not much later. How was he supposed to make this penguin feel comfortable with him? Yes, he could provide him with shelter and food, but other than that, what was he supposed to do? A disappointment like failing to get Clint Barton to warm up to him no matter how hard he tried would have been a devastating blow to his ego. It was almost just as upsetting that the two had not taken that into consideration; they wouldn't be the ones with anything to lose should the penguin still continue to reject him in the future.

In the end, he forced himself to push these thoughts aside. He and Clint Barton had only just been pushed into each other’s lives. If he were to worry about the future, he should have first made sure all went well in the present.

Less than excited but still determined, Loki made a move to pet the bird, but the penguin flinched as the shadow of Loki's hand fell over his head. Withdrawing his hand, Loki backed off a little instead. If he was going to gain Clint Barton's trust, he thought he could start by showing him there was no reason to be threatened of him, and that he respected his space. It was almost funny how he gave more consideration to this penguin than he did human beings, but then again, the penguin had no idea who he was, nor would he have any preconceived notions of how to act around him.

He just leaned against the tub, content to just watch the bird eat. He continued to mentally keep track of which fish he liked and which he avoided or ended up leaving alone after a bite.

There was a low buzzing noise coming from somewhere in the room that grabbed Clint Barton's attention. The bird turned to him, and he's about to tell him that it wasn't him making that noise when he realized what it is.

He didn't know why he had not felt his phone sooner; he was practically sitting on it after all.

Having learned his lesson, he checked the caller ID and let out a breath of relief when he saw that it was Pepper. "Hello?"

"I just finished going over your article for the Von Doom party," she informed him pleasantly. "Good job as always."

He smiled, taking kindly to her compliment. "Always a pleasure, Pepper."

"Also," she said clearing her throat. "You might want to take a look at your email."

It struck him as slightly odd for Pepper to speak so cryptically rather than in her usual straight-forward manner, but he didn’t question it and went to his email as \ instructed.

His eyebrows shot up when he saw about half a dozen emails, all from Tony, with subject lines that read "For Penguin" or something of the sort. "Is this a permit?' he said unable to hide his surprise.

Pepper laughed. "I'm sure you of all people know that Tony doesn’t quite know how to be apologetic, but I thought I’d be sure you saw his attempt at trying. To save you the time, that is," she explained.

He read through the contents of the e-mails and couldn't quite believe his eyes. Virtually everything he could have needed was here and taken care of. "Thank you, Pepper," he said at a loss for any other words to say.

"Right." There was a hint of affectionate sarcasm in her voice, and he'd known her long enough to know that that was her 'I don't know what I'm going to do with you' tone. He'd heard it directed at Tony many times before, but this was one of the few times he was actually on the receiving end of it. Whether it be because of how he had gotten himself into this jam in the first place, or if it had just been brought on by his stubborn unwillingness to forgive Tony just yet, he couldn't be sure. Maybe it was both. "I don’t know how long you two have managed to last with the size of both your egos, but I've already learned there isn't much I can do about it," she said in resignation.

He knew she couldn’t see it, but he smiled and his tone softened as he spoke, chuckling in reply to her exasperation. "What would he ever do without you, Pepper, my dear?"

"What would either of you do, honestly," she huffed.

He thanked her politely again- something he's been doing a lot of today- and she bade him goodbye and good luck, mentioning something about having other things to see to.

His happy mood did not sour as the conversation ended, and in new found tenacity, he looked right at the penguin and reassured them both that this was something he would see through. “I don’t know what’s going to happen between you and I, Clint Barton, but we can find out together.

He didn’t quite care how odd it would look to an observer, him talking to a penguin in such a serious manner like that. But the point had been that it didn’t matter at all. “So let’s try to make the best of this. What do you say?”

The bird paid attention to him as he spoke, suggesting that he might understand; but the way he lost interest the moment Loki had finished indicated that, even if he could understand on some level, it probably wasn't enough for him to care. No more than he cared about his meal, that was.

But this was only the beginning, Loki told himself. He’d have plenty of opportunities to win Clint Barton’s trust. And who knew, maybe one day, he’d even win his affection.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to do things that may at other times be questionable for the sake of pressuring me to keep to my word of one chapter a week. Passive-aggressive comments, whining & threats are alright, as long as you don't go over board. :3


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